Chicken Penne Alfredo with Swiss Chard Beet Salad

Last nights dinner was yummy! If you are looking for a meal that both adults and children love then this is it. It's really easy to sneak veggies into the alfredo sauce. My salad was 100% local with all the ingredients from Desert Roots Farm.

Swiss chard and Beet Salad:
4 medium red beets (about 1 pound), peeled and shredded
3 cups (packed) thinly sliced Swiss chard
1 medium green onion, finely chopped
1 ½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 ½ tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon granulated garlic powder
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste

In a large mixing bowl, toss together beets, chard and green onions. In a separate bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, and granulated garlic powder. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Allow the salad to stand at room temperature for 15-20 minutes before serving.


Chicken Penne Alfredo:
1 cup heavy cream
1 large egg yolk (Pinnacle farms)
1 clove garlic, crushed (local)
1 1/2 cups Parmesan
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (local)
1 16 ounce bag frozen broccoli florets (steamed)
1 summer squash (steamed) (Desert Roots Farm)
Salt and pepper
2 shredded grilled chicken breast (JH Grass Fed)

Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the penne according to directions on the bag. Steam the broccoli and squash. In a sauce pan over medium high heat, heat the cream and egg yolk for a couple minutes. Add garlic and cheese and whisk just enough to heat through. Remove from heat, pour in a blender and add the vegetables. Blend and you may have to add more cream to thin it out. While working on the sauce grill your chicken (I use a small indoor grill and it takes about 8 min.) To shred the chicken I place it in my mixer for a few minutes using the flat head. Add the shredded chicken and sauce to the penne. This feeds about 8 adults or will leave you with some leftovers for a few days.

Note: you can add what ever vegetables that are in season, I did note in the ingredients which items were local. In the past I have used roasted beets and eggplant as well. The sauce is great over spaghetti squash for a low carb meal.

This isn't a quick meal but it's worth the time. I did manage to prepare it while my 5 month old was napping and my two toddlers were running around playing. Allow 1-1.5 hours for prepping and cooking the entire meal.